# @rhodeislandcollege on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CDl3tTGFKri
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/74941304-rhodeislandcollege-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c440c46530.jpg
- **Posted:** 2020-08-07T14:38:20.000+00:00

## Caption

RIC alum Chanravy Proeung '09 earned a degree in nursing – and then decided to go all in on activism for her community. A daughter of Khmer refugees who fled the Vietnam War, she was the first in her family to graduate college. She's a former executive director of prysmfam and a 2016 Soros Justice Fellow. In 2017 she co-founded (along w/ Ditra Edwards) sistafireri, an organization that invests in the direct leadership of women of color.
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"SISTA FIRE came out of necessity," she explains. "We began to have conversations, asking, 'What kind of support systems do Black women, Indigenous women, Southeast Asian women, Latinx women, trans women have in the State of Rhode Island? Where is the leadership pipeline for the growth and development of women of color? And how do we create a space that can support and nurture leadership in women, build collective power and change political conditions?'" 
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Asked if she ever plans on returning to her chosen field of study, Chanravy responds, "I would like to do nursing, but every time I try to galvanize in that direction, I get pulled back into fighting for the community. That's where my heart is. The community needs us.​"
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#RICNews #experienceRIC #RICAlumni #RICSpirit #rhodeislandcollege #alumni #sistafireri  #activist #southeastasian  #khmer #empoweringwomen #prysmfam #leadership #communityactivism #bethechange

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## Credits

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## Tags

ricnews, rhodeislandcollege, leadership, southeastasian, ricspirit, khmer, experienceric, alumni, ricalumni, prysmfam, communityactivism, empoweringwomen, bethechange, sistafireri, activist

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